resistance to persistence

i did my best impression of paparazzi, along with a few hundred other people, and snapped some shots of stars at the toronto international film festival. i went to the gala opening of “Bobby”. it has a huge cast which includes Anthony Hopkins, Ashton Kutcher, Christian Slater, Demi Moore, Elijah Wood, Emilio Estevez, Heather Graham, Helen Hunt, Joshua Jackson, Joy Bryant, Laurence Fishburne, Lindsay Lohan, Martin Sheen, Nick Cannon, Sharon Stone, William H. Macy and others.

Several of them attended the premiere. I got photos of Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher, Sharon Stone, Christian Slater, William H Macy, and Emilio Estevez. Definitely not my best photos as I had a full zoom going, with lots of shake trying to dodge other people standing in my way. Next year I’ll be closer.

View my photos from the premiere, by clicking the images below.

stars at the Toronto International Film Festival, 2006

clockwise from top right, Bif Naked, Moka Only, Matthew Good, Jay Miron

While I was in Vancouver the past Labour Day weekend, I spotted some local celebrities and I wasn’t even looking for them.

• Bif Naked - she was filiming something in the near the seawall at Coal Harbour. She was talking into a cellphone and said “Have a great time in Viet Nam”.
• Moka Only - he was walking along Robson street. I noticed him at first from the hot Nikes he was wearing and then looked up to see who was wearing the shoes.
• Matthew Good - I spotted him in the Vancouver Airport on the way home. He ended up on the same flight as me, sitting about 10 rows in front of me.
• Jay Miron - BMX superstar, he was sitting on the patio of the great little pancake restaurant, De Dutch that we went to for breakfast.

me with Kenny Hotz

It was a very exciting lunch hour today. I had a dentist appointment for a checkup and as I was walking along King Street, I looked next to Starbucks and saw a small film crew. The sound guy looked familiar and the guy they were filming had his back towards me but I thought I knew who it was. I decided to check it out to confirm and walked past them. Sure enough, it was Kenny Hotz from Kenny vs Spenny. I yelled, “when’s the next season start?” Kenny shouted back “October 16″. I realized this would make a great blog post, so I pulled out my cameraphone, the trusty Nokia 6682, to capture the moment. Kenny said he remembered me from the previous time I ran into him and stopped him to talk and said he reads my blog. He’s left comments here as well. I’ve got celebrity readership! After the photo, he says “film him…get him on the show”. Camera’s rolling and he asks me to borrow $5. I grabbed my wallet, whipped out $5 and handed it over. I said “anything to help you beat Spenny” and started to walk away. Kenny said, “in that case, I should have asked for $20″. I figure with all the laughs this show has given me, it’s well worth $5 for my entertainment and this way I give a little back. This form of payment is way better than coughing up $12 to see a Hollywood movie and then finding out how bad it sucks.

So, I’ll be anxiously awaiting the start of Kenny vs Spenny Season 3, Sunday, October 16 at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT on Showcase. For one, to see the new episodes, and secondly, to see if I make it onto the show. If you haven’t seen the show yet, you owe it to yourself to do so. Read my previous article about the show.

I’ve posted the cameraphone photos at my flickr page.

UPDATE: Kenny left comments to this post saying they were filming episode 12 of 13, “Who can be homeless for longer” and my $5 donation went towards paying for his lunch.

check out youtube for clips from the show if you’re interested in a preview of what the shows are like. They were also on Conan O’Brien, see the clip here.

I got some film developed over the weekend. A few of the shots were from the Toronto Film Fest. Snapped a couple of Cameron Diaz. Not great quality because it was pouring and I had to shoot through people huddling with umbrellas. See my celebrity set here on Flickr.

This morning, walking into work I spotted Kenny Hotz just in front of me waiting outside of a bank machine. I had to stop to talk to him.
For those who aren’t familiar with him (and there’s probably lots) he’s on a little seen show called Kenny vs Spenny.

Kenny and Spenny are two best friends who compete against each other. Their competitions are ridiculous, immature and totally intense. Like most pals, Kenny and Spenny have always competed against one another. Kenny sees every contest as a way to have fun, get things for free, meet girls and humiliate his pal on national television. He feels that he can beat Spenny “fair and square” but admits that would take all the fun out of it. Kenny loves to compete against Spenny, because Spenny is an only child and isn’t used to sibling rivalry. “I’m like the tormenting brother he never had and probably didn’t want.”

The show aired on CBC around dinner time - I guess CBC thought it would appeal to kids, but I found it to be a bit violent and dealt more adult-themed issues, even though these 2 guys are very immature.

Here’s examples of some of their competitions:

Who can stay awake the longest?
Who can stand up the longest?
Who can sit on a cow the longest?
Who is the sanest?
Who can earn the most money in three days?
Who can stay blindfolded the longest?
Who can win a beauty pageant?
Who can lose the most weight?
Who can stay handcuffed the longest?
Who can put on the best concert?
Who is the strongest?
Who makes the most convincing woman?
Who is the best male stripper?
Who is the best figure skater?
Who will use their arms first?
Who can survive in the woods the longest?
Who can live in a van the longest?

Think of MTV’s Jackass meets Survivor. It’s no-holds barred and Kenny always has a sneeky plan. I’ve seen them stay up for 3 days straight, stay handcuffed to each other for a very long time (going to the washroom was very funny), try to sleep standing up, and dress in drag to host a tea party for a bunch of women. Hilarious. The loser of the competition gets to be humiliated by the winner. I’ve seen them humiliate each other by being forced to run down Yonge St naked, parade on a streetcorner as a hooker and try to pickup men (a cop car even showed up shortly after).

It’s a hilarious show, but CBC hasn’t shown it in a couple years. I went searching for it and found it on the GameShow Network which I don’t get. So I had to talk to Kenny this morning when I saw him to find out what’s going on. He told me it’s coming back soon on Showcase. Showcase always plays great shows, like the brilliant Trailer Park Boys. Kenny also mentioned that now “it’s totally hardcore”. I can’t wait to see it. He asked me if I liked the show and I enthusiastically told him “I love it!”. I can’t wait to see it on again. Check it out if you get Showcase.

UPDATE: Check it out, Kenny actually found my site and replied in the comments. I’m not sure how he found my site so soon, but I’m impressed. Check Kenny’s site for his latest work - Papal Chase, an attempt to meet Pope John Paul II to win a $1000 bet.

Bennifer2 is in town. Affleck is filming a movie, and it’s 4 blocks from my office. Garner flew in and they’ve been spotted around town. I’ve got my eyes peeled. I walked past the shoot when I was out for lunch today, but they’re doing some interior shots. The outside is all done up with vintage cars and buildings decorated like flower shops, but no action outside yet. I’ll pass by on my way home. I should have brought my camera. The trusty phonecam might have to do the job.

Former mayor Mel Lastman rode the rocket yesterday sitting across from me. A few people did double takes as they walked by him on the platform and whispered and pointed him out to their friends. A couple people actually said hi and waved which brought a smile to Mel’s face. He seemed pretty exhausted and tired, not the energetic Bad Boy pitchman you see above. I’d seen him around before as he lives in my neighbourhood and was eating at the local Shopsy’s diner.

I’ve got a big list of celebs (and pseudo-celebs) I’ve seen around. Here’s the who & where list.

• Cranberries - musical group. I was playing pool at the Down Under bar in town in a little back room and 3 of the guys from Cranberries walked in and started playing. Dolores wasn’t there as she just had her baby. One of them launched the cueball off the table over my way and when I gave the ball back I struck up a conversation. They didn’t think they’d be recognized and were trying to pretend they were just some tourists. Finally they admitted they were recording some songs at a local studio.
• Rachel Perry - VH1 VJ. She started out at MuchMusic for many years. I was shopping at Loblaws in Queen’s Quay (rep for a great dating pickup spot) and saw her at the checkouts. I caught a glimpse of some crazy bird tattoos on her belly. Rachel left to the US later to work at VH1 and other shows. Check her out in Stuff magazine
• Jennifer Love Hewitt - most famous for Party of Five. Passed her on Bloor street in front of Holt Renfrew shopping.
• Shaun Majumder - a great Canadian comic working his way up the standup chain. I love his Newfoundland jokes, being a newfie myself. I was walking outside of my house and he was driving by in a tiny, old beatup Honda Civic packed with what looked like everything he owned. This was a few years back
• Harland Williams - this guy is another great standup comedian. Some people don’t like his style, but he gets me laughing. He’s been in movies such as Dumb & Dumber and Something About Mary. A group of us went to a comedy nightclub and he went on stage under a pseudonym to try out some new material. He opened with: “Have you ever ordered calimari and thought the waiter brought you deep-fried assholes instead?” I was rolling on the floor by the end of his set.
• Delroy Lindo - passed him on Yonge street near the Eaton Centre one night walking by himself. I forget what movie he was filming in town at that time.
• Billy Ray Cyrus - Achy Breaky Heart. Ugh. He films a tv series, Doc, here in town. Passed him filming on my way into work.
• Jaleel White - you remember Steve Erkel. Unfortunately, so does everyone and he’ll always be typecast in that role. He was filming a show in town that never made it to tv (111 Gramercy Park I think it was called) and I passed by him during the shoot.
• Tyler Stewart, Barenaked Ladies - musician. He got on the subway and stood next to me. Good to know popular folks ride the subway too.

Before	Now

I passed Bret Hart last night on the way home at the corner of Yonge & King. He’s doing a play in town. It was interesting to see a childhood hero that close. I remember my dad taking me to a wrestling event as a kid. Staying up late with him and watching Saturday Night’s Main Event wrestling. I was a big wrestling fan and would watch it every week. I guess Bret’s many years of acting out wrestling moves and dancing around in the ring has given him the necessary experience to act in a play and dance around the stage.